avatexrs

I am Diamond but haven’t cruised in about 5-6 years.  When I last cruised, I would have a couple of cocktails in the Diamond lounge before dinner, and I didn’t have to use any of the free drink electronic vouchers (I think it was three per day at the time).  Is that still the case?  Or do I have to use one of the (now four) drink vouchers to have a drink in the Diamond Lounge?

I know why the kids were in the hot tubs in mail pool area, but my question is - is there a reason why the adults only hot tub wasn’t kept hotter?

I was on the Rhapsody last September out of Venice.  The hot tubs in the Solarium/adults only area were cool or lukewarm at best, and the hot tubs in the mail pool area where nice and hot but filled with kids.  Is that normal? Do they not keep the Solarium hot tubs hot?

Does anyone know of private or semi-private sailing excursions from the tender port in Fira?

Can you still take advantage of price drops if you have a non-refundable deposit (meaning your could cancel and rebook)?

The aegeantravelers website (see below) also mentions a wine tasting option for an additional 15 Euros, but offers no details. Anyone tried that?

http://www.aegeantravellersantorini.com/transfer-to-oia-by-speedboat-private-bus-back-to-fira/

I used this company to get from Fira to Oia. I made reservations ahead of time but it didn’t seem to matter when we arrived and told them we had reservations. It was 15 euros for speed boat to Ammoudi Bay, bus transfer to Oia, and bus transfer to Fira.

 

Dakoutros Bros J.V

Best Excursions!

Fira central square

Tel: (+30) 22860 24287

Fax: (+30) 22860 22686

info@santorini-excursions.com

http://www.santorini-excursions.com/

Their website currently doesn’t show this option - just a number of different options. Does anyone know if they’re still running the speed boat to the port near Oia?

I am on an upcoming Rhapsody sailing. The specialty dining options are Chef's Table, Chops, Giovannis and Izumi, and the 4 night specialty dining package is $90 per person.

I assume that doesn't include Chef's Table, which is $75 per person by itself. If that's right, who chooses which restaurant I go to more than once?

I've typically booked in the past with RC directly, but I'm using an agent this time for a cruise in September. She's offered $150 OBC for each of two cabins, Which is $100 more than what RC was offering. The OBC amount that shows up on her agency's invoice for the final payment I just made. But it does not show up on the RC invoice that she forwarded me. What's the best practice for ensuring that the OBC shows up on my onboard account before the cruise?

Stopped cruising about five years after about 15 cruises on RC/Celebrity. Just got tired of the itineraries. Headed to Venice in September for a week on the Rhapsody to Croatia and Greece. Diamond member.

What’s changed in the past five years?

We must be hooked!

- Excursions – We did purchase one excursion from Royal Caribbean, which was canceled the day before we arrived in Belize. They invited us to rebook another one with a 20% discount, which we did. It was the Star Fish Island and Snorkeling excursion. It was good and I would recommend. I would like to mention that we did an EXCELLENT excursion in Roatan. It was not through the ship, google Little French Key and book through their website. This was the BEST excursion we've done in 15 cruises. I highly recommend doing this one Roatan. An excellent day in Paradise!

 

I've heard that there is an excursion in Belize that picks you up at the ship, so you don't have to tender into the port first. Is that the Starfish Island excursion?

What time was the email sent?

 

What time did you call them?

 

Isn't it possible that in that time frame, others called back first and snapped up all of the available junior suites?

 

Just a thought.

 

:)

I called about 15 minutes after getting the email. As I wrote, there haven't been any JS's available for at least a couple of weeks.

JS's have been sold out out on my upcoming November 30 cruise. Got an email today from RC for 50% off an upgrade to a JS on the cruise. Called and was offered the upgrade for $200 total. Asked for a cabin number, only to be told they are sold out. Thanks RC.

Sent from my iPhone using Forums

From Peggy Noonan's column in today's Wall Street Journal, comparing the government's position on banning travel from certain countries to the common sense of a child:

If you had a group of 11-year-olds, they would surely have a superior answer to the question: “Sick people are coming through the door of the house, and we are not sure how to make them well. Meanwhile they are starting to make us sick, too. What is the first thing to do?”

The children would reply: “Close the door.” One would add: “Just for a while, while you figure out how to treat everyone getting sick.” Another might say: “And keep going outside the door in protective clothing with medical help.” Eleven-year-olds would get this one right without a lot of struggle.

If we don’t momentarily close the door to citizens of the affected nations, it is certain that more cases will come into the U.S. It is hard to see how that helps anyone. Closing the door would be no guarantee of safety—nothing is guaranteed, and the world is porous. But it would reduce risk and likelihood, which itself is worthwhile.

I am not at home, so no photos from my computer of the actual sign, but....

 

The discount is not dollars off the restaurant fees, but instant OBC on your SeaPass account in the stated amounts.

 

These apply whether you book in advance or book on board.

 

And Navigator now has Sabor. ;)

 

:)

But if I'm not mistaken, you have to pay in advance if reserve in advance, so your OBC effectively has to be used for something else. Is that right?

I'm still a little confused -

If you make your reservations online in advance, do you pay for them in advance at the time you make them, in which case the OBC has to be used for something else on board?

or

Do you just reserve the times online and the charges get added to your onboard account, in which case the OBC gets used like a real discount and is deducted from the charges?

I'm on the Navigator in November and trying to understand the discounts that are offered for the specialty restaurants.

1. I've read some threads saying there is a 20% discount offered for dining in a specialty restaurant on the first night. Is this for any specialty restaurant? Does the discount apply if you reserve online in advance or only if you book once onboard?

2. I've read some threads saying there are offers of onboard credit (OBC) for booking multiple specialty restaurants online before boarding. I've read other threads that talk about discounts - as opposed to OBC - offered for booking multiple specialty reservations the first night once you're onboard. Which is it? Or both? And is it correct that the OBC for booking online can't be used to pay for the restaurant themselves?

3. Are 1 and 2 combinable? In other words, can you get the 20% discount off the first night's dinner (#1) and have it count towards the three or four reservations needed to get the multiple reservations discount or OBC (#2)?

So if you consider price and OBC to be equal, my C&A discount is worth all of $42?

885 x 2 = 1770 less 200 OBC = 1570

764 x 2 = 1528

I'm looking at prices on RC's website.

When I don't log in, the pricing on a D-3 cabin for a 12/7 Navigator cruise is $885/person after some unspecified discount, but it shows an additional $200 OBC.

I am a Diamond member. When I log in on the RC website and search for the same thing, the price is $764/person after some unspecified discounts, but no OBC. Does anyone know if the C&A Diamond balcony is included in the online discounts that show up after you log in?

Per the RC website, P2 panoramic cabins on the refurbished Navigator of the Seas vary "from 191 to 215 sq. ft."

Anyone have any idea of which P2 cabins are bigger than the others?

I know that Adventure currently doesn't have a Diamond Lounge. And I've read on various websites that Adventure is scheduled to be refurbished next year, and per RC's website there are no cruises from March 30 to April 9. Is that enough time to do the typical RC improvements during a drydock? The deck plans for post-April don't show any Diamond Lounge or other improvements for post-April cruises. Anyone know anything?